Absence of abstinence abounds in teens

By Billie Parish

Sexual activity at an early age has become an increasingly significant problem in the Unites States. Not only are fewer adolescents choosing to abstain from sex until marriage â€" or at least a serious, committed relationship â€" but they also have a tendency to view sex less seriously.

Along with earlier sexual activity seems to come a lack of knowledge in the importance of protection. Whether it is because schools are not teaching it in sex education, or because it is being ignored in the homes, young adults are growing up misinformed or not even informed at all. Many adolescents feel that they are not at risk for sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy.

One explanation for the lack of concern about safe sex is the media. We have been raised on approximately 17 hours of television per week, with numerous references to sex. Unfortunately, very few of those references also dealt with using protection. Adolescents associate the use of protection with planning and precaution which makes sex less erotic and less spontaneous. Because of this, kids who have grown up watching these shows are going to have a false sense that pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases only happen to other people.

On the plus side, more than half of all adolescents report learning about contraceptives from the television. Thus, in a day when talking about sex at home with the family is uncommon, the media can serve as an effective source of information for kids who are afraid to ask their questions at school or home.

Another common explanation for unsafe sex among young adults is alcohol. It is a well-known fact that consumption of alcohol can lead to poor decision making. Often times these decisions pertain to sex and whether or not to use protection.

When someone is drunk and caught up in the heat of the moment, the last thing they want to think about is protection.

Along with unsafe sex come consequences such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. A shocking 40 percent of all women become pregnant by the age of twenty and approximately two-thirds of all STD cases occur in people under the age of 25. Although these numbers have dropped slightly in the past few years, it is still a problem.

The most common sexually transmitted diseases among college students include the human papillomavirus, HIV, chlamydia and herpes. Whereas viral sexually transmitted diseases, such as human papillomavirus and herpes simplex have been on the rise, bacterial sexually transmitted diseases have been declining.

Going to a private liberal arts school like Santa Clara, we are less exposed to the prevalence of teen pregnancies. Maybe it is because we have been better educated than other young adults or because we are more aware of our desired future and know how decisions, like using birth control, can affect our future. Unfortunately, sometimes it just boils down to the luck of the draw.

For instance, maybe two people will sleep with someone with a sexually transmitted disease, but only one will contract it. Or perhaps both contract it, but only one has the access and ability to get medical attention.

Similarly, one girl may have unprotected sex habitually and not get pregnant, but the first time another girl has sex, the condom breaks and she gets pregnant. Although one hardly sees any pregnant girls walking around campus, chances are that a surprising number of women here have had abortions.

Despite what we may think, the risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are just as great for us as they are for anyone else.

û Billie Parish is a freshman.